God's Will
by JJ Twi1ight
Summary: Late one Halloween night, Jacob meets a young boy who will change his troubled life.
1. Chapter 1

**Disclaimer** – I do not own the Twilight characters they go to Stephenie Meyers and the one shot is inspired by the song God's Will by Martina McBride

You tube dot com/watch?v=YCRrrP0EhPc&ob=av2e

and

He Didn't Have to Be by Brad Paisley

you tube dot com/watch?v=BjO1F6oCab8&feature=BFa&list=PL2989777A4BDBF488&lf=results_main

****GOD'S WILL****

I pulled one box after another from my truck, carrying them into the tattered one bedroom house that I returned to in the small town of La Push. I have no idea why I was here, when I left the day after I graduated high school I swore I would never be back. Yet, here I am.

Once darkness filled the sky, I flicked on the porch light even though I knew the terrain well. There was a large oak tree with dry brown leaves scattered everywhere and the house looked almost haunted from years of neglect. It seems that someone had placed several pumpkins along the narrow walkway leading to the mail box at the curb. I wasn't sure why, all the pumpkins were rotten with green mold coming down the side.

I could see the traditional jostling of the curtains across the street and knew that someone was watching me go back and forth from my truck to inside the house. Behind the curtain I could see a small little head with auburn brown hair. I decided to ignore it and carry on, I had spent the last ten years running and decided to come home and face my demons.

I didn't even know what day it was until the door bell rang. With a sigh I got out of my leather recliner and walked to the front door. It had been a long day of unpacking and wondering what I was doing moving all this crap from one place to the next. I opened the front door and there stood the same kid that I noticed through the window directly across the street. He was in a large orange trash sack with leaves taped to the front and spilling out the arms and neck hole.

I opened my mouth to say something and felt like my words were stuck in my throat as I saw the white braces over his oddly bent legs.

"Trwick or Twreat?" The boy said, breaking me from my stare.

"What?" I questioned.

"I sory, mistor," he said slurring his words. I didn't know much about kids, but he seemed to be about 6 or 7 and I knew that his speech wasn't normal for his age.

"Um, give me a second," I said and smiled before turning around back inside the house. There was a candy bar that I had purchased at a gas station earlier today that I didn't eat, so I thought I would give it to him.

I had left the door open, but a gust of wind passed through and sucked the door back, slamming it closed. It was loud and the noise caused me to jump inside and I heard him yelp and then the sound of his braces falling on the hard cement.

"Oh crap," I mumbled and instantly forgot about the candy and sprinted back to the door. There in a crumpled heap was the little boy and running up between the small hedges that was on either side of the porch was a woman that I could only assume was his mother based on the murderous glare she was giving me.

"Are you alright?" I crouched in the now open door way and started to lift him.

"Don't you dare touch him!" She hissed and I could tell that she wanted to yell, but didn't due not wanting to scare her son.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident." I stammered.

"You slammed the door in his face, that is hardly an accident." She continued to glare as she straightened his braced legs in order for him to be able to stand.

"No, no, Mummma," he smiled at me. "He's nice."

I smiled and took hold of his other shoulder and together we got him to his feet.

I wanted to say something, but I felt like every time I opened my mouth her eyes would turn to challenging slits and so I decided to say nothing.

"Come on, Will," she got the little boy on his feet.

He hobbled carefully as he turned himself back around. "It twis nice to met you." He smiled at me and his face glowed like the sun.

I nodded my head. "Same to you, Will, take care."

His mother looked at me, shaking her head and directed her son to the next neighbor's house.

I went back inside completely convinced that this place was cursed and nothing would ever go well for me. There in the middle of the floor sat the candy bar that I was trying to get. In frustration, I slammed the light off outside, then I ate the candy, and went to bed.

(* * * * )

The next several weeks I focused on painting every room in the house and without meaning to I started to notice Will everyday that he got off the school bus. He would see me through the window and wave before going into his house and several hours later his mother arrived. I hated the idea that he was there by himself, but I didn't really feel like it was my place to say anything. I moved to the outside and the red paint was badly pealed and faded from years and years of neglect.

"Hello, Mistor," I heard Will say as I was painting.

"Hello, you may call me Jake, if you would like." I told him.

"Jawke," he smiled.

"How was school?" I asked.

"Fine," he looked down and limped a little closer to my house. I had a liter of Root Beer and box of chocolate chip cookies on the front porch that I saw his eyes dart to.

"Help yourself," I nodded my head to them. He took a few more wobbly steps, then reached one hand down to the step, and gave an awkward plop on the step next to the cookies.

He munched quietly and I continued to paint, and for the next week I left a box of cookies on my front porch and Will joined me each afternoon for a snack. Sometimes he would talk about school, I learned he was in the first grade and seemed to have one friend that he would talk about. One day I noticed him gobble two cookies really quickly.

"Are you hungry, Will?" I didn't mind him eating a few cookies each day, but if he was actually hungry I knew it would be better to have some real food.

"Yes, Jawke."

"Let's go inside." I got down off my ladder and put my supplies away as I waited for him to straighten his own legs and prepared to stand up. He wobbled for just a second and corrected himself before moving to the door.

"Thawnk you," he said.

"Well, lets see what the food options are before you start thanking me. I haven't really taken the time to stock much of anything." I moved into the kitchen and he followed right behind me.

It was an open floor plan so that the kitchen looked into the living room.

"No, not fwor the fwood," he said, shaking his head.

"Then what for?" I asked, getting the bread out of the pantry.

"For not trweating me like a baby."

I smiled. "Well, you're not a baby. And I know nothing about babies, so I wouldn't know how to treat you if you were."

"Mummas always so careful."

"I'm sure that she just worries about you."

All I could find was peanut butter, no jelly, and some cheddar cheese. Given those options Will selected grilled cheese so I made the sandwiches quickly as he told me about his mother. She was a single mom that often had to work overtime to make ends meet. I cautiously asked if he had any other family and he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Here you go, Will," I said, handing him his plate.

He folded his hands over the plate in his lap and closed his eyes. "Dear God, pwleas blwess Mumma, Mrs. Brwown, Mr. C, my best friends Jwake and Pawl, and . . ." There was a long stream of names of people I didn't know, but he never once mentioned himself even though his mother and myself were both mentioned a couple times. I wasn't sure if I had ever been prayed for before and when he finished there was a long pause before he looked up at me.  
>"Are you gonna, pwray?" He asked.<p>

"Uh, um, no."

"Mawybe next, time." He lifted his now cold sandwich and began to eat.

Talking to Will was always a lengthy process, he would take a long time to think about what he wanted to say and then it would take even longer for him to say it. Sometimes I couldn't understand a slurred word and I felt bad for asking him to repeat himself.

"Mumma, calls me her maracle," he told me when there was a long pause.

"Why?" I knew that I had my own personal issues with God, but I didn't know what He had to do with Will.

Will shrugged. "I guess 'cause I was born earlies."

I nodded my head not sure what else to say. "Do you believe that you are a miracle?"

"Yes, God loves me."

I couldn't help the small smile that graced my face. I had given up on God and felt certain that He had given up on me. However, I wasn't going to take away the peace that Will's faith gave him. For all I knew maybe Will really was God's.

We settled into the living room and I found a random cartoon that Will seemed familiar with. He would laugh loudly and his hips would twitch randomly. I knew that I had my own problems, but somehow watching this boy who seemed to have every reason to be bitter, but wasn't, brought some perspective to my life. Maybe, just maybe, Will was the reason that I came back to the place that I dreaded the most.

An hour later there was a frantic pounding on the door. I quickly walked to the door and opened it. The entryway opened directly into the living room and without a word to me Will's mother stormed into the house and dropped to her knees beside the couch that Will was sitting on.

"Oh my gosh, Will! I came home and you were nowhere to be found. I have been searching over half the block looking for you."

"Mumma..." Will interrupted.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" His mother continued, clutching him tightly to her chest.

"Sorrwy," his head hung low.

I instantly felt like defending him, until for the second time his mother glared at me.

"Ms . . ." I suddenly didn't know what to call her. I never heard Will's last name, and calling her 'Mumma' probably wouldn't go over well right now.

"Swan, Bella Swan." She answered, however her glare did not soften.

"It's nice to meet you, I'm Jacob, Jacob Black. I apologize for making you nervous, Will and I lost track of time."

It seemed that as she started to relax she noticed the plate with the crust left from his sandwich and a plastic cup with soda in it. "You fed him?" She said, surprised. Now that her eyes relaxed I could see that her eyes were a beautiful shade of chocolate brown and I realized that Will must have gotten his green eyes from his father.

"Yes, I hope that isn't a problem. We normally have soda and a few cookies on the front porch, but he seemed very hungry today."

"Will, honey . . ." Bella shook her head as she got off the floor and sat next to him on the couch. "Did you not eat your lunch?"

Will shook his head 'no'.

"Why not, sweetheart?"

"I dropped it and it rolled down the hill where I couldn't get to it." Will said as big fat tears began to roll down his face.

Bella wrapped him in her arms and instantly I wanted to do the same, but instead I stayed glued in place.

After several minutes, when Will lifted himself from his mother, his eyes were dry however his nose sniffled and I saw Bella wipe her cheek with her hand. I had one box of tissues, it got pretty beat up in the move but I figured it would work and walked towards them with it in hand. Bella took two for herself and handed one more to Will.

"Thank you, God," I heard her mumble softly, giving Will another tight squeeze. She took Will's elbow to help him to stand, I nodded my head to show that I heard as they walked together towards the door.

"You take care, little man." I patted Will on the back and his big smile beamed up at me.

I saw appreciation in Bella's eyes for a moment before a black pickup truck pulled up in front of their house and her eyes darted to the window.

"I need to go, I'm late." Bella whispered.

Will looked out the window. "Ahh, Mumma, not again." Will complained.

"It is only our second date, I'll have him meet you next time."

"Then he'll rwun. . ." Will looked down and it was the first time I really saw him frown.

"Maybe not. . ." Bella gave him a small hug and then they opened the door.

"Thank you, Mr. Black."

"Any time, and please, call me Jake."

( * * * * )

Slowly winter came and went, bringing spring and leaving the end of Summer. I spent all my time fixing the house, which included replacing all the windows and polishing and sanding the woods floors. The roof sprung a leak in late May, so I decided to replace that as well. By now the house looked completely brand new and there wasn't much left for me to do. Also Will would be starting school again next week. He had become my main helper, handing me tools or getting me a drink of water. Whatever I could think of to make him feel useful. I'm not sure if his slurring has improved or I have gotten used to it.

I only saw Bella through the window as she walked Will across the street from her house to my yard, then she would go to work or some evenings a random date. I didn't know that you could fall in love with someone through a pane of glass, but as I saw the same guy's blue Ford Explorer I knew that it was true. She has been dating him consistently for the past month, each time she would meet him outside and this was the first time that he went to the front door.

I always wondered if he even knew about Will. I knew that I was being nosy to watch and wait for the door to open across the street, but I couldn't make myself move. The door opened and I saw Will standing in front of the door, the man took several big steps back and it felt like my heart split into two as Will's smile dissolved and his eyes looked down.

Slowly, Will lifted his eyes to the man's face. "Mumma, will be rwight owut."

"Tell her I can't make it," he said, shaking his head.

Bella stood behind Will. "James, please, wait." I heard the pleading in her voice.

"You should have told me." He said taking several steps backwards towards his truck.

Bella came around Will and kissed his cheek. "Mommy will be right back. Why don't you go finish your snack, it looks like I will be staying home."

I saw Will's shadow hobble away as Bella closed the front door.

"I'm sorry, you are right." She licked her lips before the bottom one got stuck between her teeth.

"Were you ever going to tell me?" He yelled.

Bella looked back towards the house. "Please, don't yell. I'm so tired of this . . ."

I walked away from the window feeling furious with this jerk of a guy that didn't even want to get to know Will and even more furious at Bella for hiding her son.

I heard the roar of his engine as he drove away and was taking my trash to the curb when I heard Bella crying on the front porch steps of her house. I knew that it wasn't my business but I wanted it to be, so I walked across the quiet street and sat down next to her.

"You probably think I'm a terrible mother," she cried.

"No. A terrible mother could never have raised such an awesome little boy."

Bella burst into sobs and I wrapped my arms around her, holding her head to my chest. She cried and cried, more than I thought it was possible for a grown person to cry and I rubbed her back and shoulders.

After my shirt was ruined from her tears and streaked with make up, Bella began to pull herself together.

"I'm so sorry. I don't know where that came from." She wiped her eyes and nose in a very unlady like gesture.

"No problem." I said. "It can't be easy doing what you do by yourself."

"It is not. But I still thank God, every day for Will. You know the doctors told me that he wouldn't live to be a teenager."

I heard myself gasp. "Oh Bella, there isn't anything that you can do?"

"I pray . . ." She took a deep breath, releasing it with a sigh. "He has cerebral palsy and I was told to take him home and love him. That is it! I refuse to believe that is all that can be done, therefore we are on a waiting list for a specialty doctor in California. So we'll see."

A single tear slipped down her cheek and I caught it with the back of my hand. "I'm sorry, Bella, I just don't know what to say."

"It is alright. You know, Will talks about you all the time." She smiled.

I smiled in return. "I think about him a lot. He has been fun to have around this summer."

"Thank you so much, I don't know what I would have done if you weren't here to watch him. And what you have done to that house is amazing, it was in sad shape before you got to it."

I cringed thinking about how neglected this house was. It has always been my home.

"You know they say that the family that lived there all died."

"Yeah . . . not quite all of them." I mumbled softly.

Bella turned and took my hand. "It looks like I'm not the only one with issues."

"No," I whispered softly and stood up, dropping her hand. I walked back across the street, shutting the door behind me. I knew that I was still running away, but I still wasn't ready to talk about it. I wasn't ready to tell her that I came home, to that house, after my high school graduation to find my father's lifeless body hanging inside his bathroom.

I once had the perfect family, two parents that loved each other more than life itself. I was seven years old when they found out that they would be having twins. I knew that they were happy, but I didn't understand at the time how badly they were wanting another baby and the two miscarriages that proceeded the birth of my two sisters. Rachel came first and was so tiny and cute and Rebecca came next and immediately they were concerned. She was so much smaller than her sister and in the next few years as Rachel began to talk and walk, Rebecca stayed the same.

My parents began to fight over what types of therapy and treatments would be best for Rebecca and Rachel didn't understand. Rebecca started in a wheelchair, then braces, and after years and years of therapy was able to walk with the help of a walker. As Rebecca got better and better some of the stress eased off of Mom and Dad and I was so glad to have my loving parents again. However tragedy struck one month before my high school graduation.

I walked away from the accident with cuts and bruises, which was declared a miracle by everyone but me and Dad. For me it was a curse. What made me so damn special? For Dad, I seemed to be a walking, breathing reminder of everything that he lost. So I ran. I stuffed my backpack with some clothes, what money I had on me and just drove until I ran out of gas outside of Seattle. I spent the next year living on the streets, doing things I would never tell another soul, filled with hatred not letting anyone get close to me.

While at a homeless shelter a persistent old man tried to help, giving me clean clothes and finally a new place to call home. I went to college and got extremely lucky, moving up the corporate ladder at an extremely fast rate. I had received notices for years that they were going to tear down my family's home if I didn't come and fix it up. It was the promise to that kind, dying old man that brought me back.

( * * * * )

Three weeks after talking to Bella on her front porch, I was racking leaves into a huge pile. Will had a hand held shovel and was scooping the leaves slowly into a large trash sack. A cold front blew in over night and I could tell that Will was stiff as he tried to move around.

"Come on, Buddy, let's go inside. I'm pretty sure I have some hot chocolate that we can make."

His lips quivered, and I felt bad for not noticing that he was so cold. "Ssssoounds, gwreattt."

I came and walked next to him and I wanted so badly to pick him up as he struggled with the first step of the front porch, but have learned to let him do it himself.

"Will, why didn't you tell me you were so cold? We could have stopped, or I could have walked across the street for your jacket." I asked as we were finally in the kitchen.

"My jacket is pawck up."

"Packed? What on earth for?" I filled the tea kettle with water and placed it on the burner to boil.

"Taking a trwip to Cal... Calwif... Calwifonia."

"California?" I couldn't believe that Bella would move with Will without saying anything to me. It is not like she needed my permission, but I thought that there was a connection that wasn't only to Will. I thought that there might be something in the way that she would smile and wave to me from across the street. In the way that I was aware of every move that she made and I thought she was aware of what I did as well.

"When do you leave?" I asked as the loud whistle of the tea pot brought me out of my rambled thoughts.

"Tomorrow morwning."

I made his hot chocolate and didn't really feel like drinking my own. He sat at the kitchen table, while I sat completely lost in my own thoughts as Will colored. I was always amazed at how well he could draw and had bought stacks of construction paper for him.

Bella came and got Will that evening when she got off work, and I could hardly look at her because I didn't want her to see how much them leaving was upsetting me. I didn't eat dinner that night, just sat in front of the TV but didn't really see or hear anything. I must have fallen asleep because I woke up still on the couch and walked over to the window. I could see the exhaust from Bella's car as she loaded Will into his seat.

As I turned towards the kitchen I saw the pictures that Will had drawn. There were two houses on either side of the paper and in his messy scrawl he wrote, __Me, God, and Mommy Loves YOU__.

With shaking hands I lifted the paper from the kitchen table and instantly sprinted out the door. Four tires were rolling away as I slammed into the side of the car and I heard Bella scream inside. She slammed on the break and I threw her car door open, thrusting the drawing at her.

"Is this true?" I asked desperately. "Because Bella, I love you, and Will, and I don't want you to go." She looked back and forth between me and the paper completely speechless. "I know that me loving you may not make any sense at all, but I know that it is true."

"Jake . . .?" Bella blinked her eyes repeatedly and a single tear slide down her cheek.

I brushed my hand across her cheek, just like the last time I saw her cry. "Please, give me a chance. I don't really know how to be a father, but I would like to. Whatever is in store for Will, with treatment or whatever, I want to be there. Please." I knew that I was rambling and even worse begging, but I didn't care.

"Jake, we aren't moving." Bella finally said.

"You're not?" I looked at her confused.

"No, the doctor in California just wants to meet with us. If we are approved then it will be another six months before we would go."

I don't know if it was the relief of stress, but suddenly I found myself kissing her. There was a soft gasp of surprise before her smooth soft lips pressed back against my own. She was still buckled into her car and I was hunched awkwardly inside with both hands, cupping her cheeks. One of her hands landed on my shoulder next to my neck and slowly I pealed my lips from hers, resting my forehead against hers.

"Sorry, that was . . ." I tried to speak, but couldn't find the right words.

"Perfect." Bella smiled as tiny tears rolled down her cheeks. "Thank you."

"This feels kind of backwards, but can I ask you out." I laughed. "Jeez, how junior high does that sound?"

Bella laughed. "Yes, I would like that very much."

I looked in the back seat and saw Will smiling brightly. "So what do you say, Will, can I date your mom?"

"Yes, I have pwray for you to be my daddy."

I smiled. "Well lets not jump the gun, but how about a date to Chuck E Cheese, and you can come along." I winked at him and he beamed, his eyes sparkling.

"So, I'll see you in . . ." suddenly I really didn't know how long they were going to be gone for.

"Three days, we will be gone for the weekend." Bella filled in for me.

"Well then, I will see you then." I gave her another light kiss and leaned out of her car so that they could get going.

"I'll be looking forward to it." Bella smiled.

"Me too," Will added.

I stepped back and watched them drive away and took a deep breath, thinking about how my life was about to change. A bright orange trash bag rolled across my yard, in it's wake leaves scattered behind it. I had to smile as I thought about how it all started, almost one year ago. Late one night, Will stood on my front porch dressed as a bag of leaves.

"Thank you, God," I said, looking up into the sky.


	2. Author's Note

**I debated about continuing this story as an all human fan fiction which I had every intention of pulling and then publishing. But I'm torn on that concept and the ethical implications that it has, so I have decided to simply continue the story as an Original story. I am currently writing it and chapters can be found on the website called TrickyRaven. It is a fan fiction site that allows Original Work. **

** trickyraven dot ning dot com/group/god-s-will-ow?xg_source=activity**

**If you would like to follow me there but cannot for some reason , please let me know. I'll work something out. **

**Thanks for all your support. **

**JJ**

**(Preview of edited version) **

**GOD'S ****WILL**

**Chapter ****1**

I pulled one box after another from a rented U-haul truck, carrying them into the tattered two story, four bedroom house I returned to in the small town of Stillwater, Oklahoma. There were a million other places I would rather be than back there, but I felt like I had to. Not that the town itself was bad, as long as you were a fan of Oklahoma State University. The university was the life and breath of the town with almost everything shutting down during the summer and any other time classes weren't in session. There was a time when I was excited to start my own college experience. To be able to play football or become a firefighter and join a fraternity, but instead I left soon after graduating high school, swearing I would never come back.

During the time away, I had grown into a strong man with thick brown hair that had a slight curl which I found annoying so I always kept it really short until the past year when I decided to let it grow around my ears, tickling the collar of my shirt in the back. I tried out every style of facial hair in order to make myself appear older, deciding that a thin mustache and patch on my chin was easy to maintain and professional.

Once darkness filled the sky, I flicked on the porch light, even though I knew the terrain well. The yard was once thick with healthy grass, but now was mostly weeds and over grown, as well as yellowed from the fall cold. A large oak tree scattered dry brown leaves everywhere and the house appeared haunted from years of neglect. It seemed someone had placed several pumpkins along the narrow walkway leading to the mailbox at the curb. I wasn't sure why they bothered, if they were going for curb appeal then they should have picked them back up before they rotted, spilling green mold along the side onto the cement walkway.

The familiar jostling of curtains from the house across the street told me that someone was watching me trek back and forth from the truck to inside the house. Through the window pane, I could see a small little head with auburn brown hair. I didn't care who it was or if the kid watched me, because I was sure he would get bored quickly. It wasn't like watching some man the kid didn't know unload boxes was exciting or anything. Ten years was a long time to be away and it shouldn't have surprised me by the massive amount of crap that somehow was deemed necessities to get through daily life, even though I only planned to be here a week or two.

There was still a lot of work to do, but I considered unloading the small U-haul truck to be my accomplishment for today. The inside of the house wasn't in any better condition than the outside. Several broken windows left behind leaves and water damage on the hard wood floor. There was a thick layer of dirt on every surface, therefore some serious cleaning and repairs would need to be made before I would even consider taking anything out of the protection the cardboard box provided to the contents inside.

Most of the furniture smelled of mold and would be thrown away; therefore I was thankful for the leather recliner and bedding that I refused to leave behind. By some miracle there was a working TV and rabbit ears that picked up four stations. I sat down in the recliner, trying to watch football but I might as well be listening to the radio because of how bad the picture quality was. For a moment I thought it might be trying to hypnotize me as the picture literally scrolled from bottom to top in a continuous loop. Suddenly, calling the cable company had climbed to the top of my extremely long to-do list. I spent the next hour grumbling to myself at how fuzzy the picture was, having to sometimes use my imagination to know exactly what was happening, however the noise worked at giving my mind and body a chance to relax.

I didn't know what day it was until the doorbell rang. With a sigh I got out of my recliner and walked to the front door. I opened the door and there stood the same kid I had noticed through the window across the street. He was wearing a large white trash sack with the words "BOO" written in thick black letters across his chest. White braces wrapped around his oddly bent legs, giving him an unstable appearance. I opened my mouth to say something, but the words were stuck in my throat. Did he accidentally walk to the wrong house? Did his parents know where he was? Why was he dressed up like a ghost?

"Trwick or Twreat?" The boy asked, breaking me from my stare.

"What?"

"I sory, mistor," he said slurring his words. I didn't know much about kids, but he seemed to be about 7 or 8 and I knew that his speech wasn't normal for his age.

"Um, give me a second," I said and smiled before turning back inside the house. I had purchased a candy bar at a gas station earlier today that I didn't eat, so I thought I would give it to him.

I left the door open, but a gust of wind passed through and sucked the door back, slamming it closed. It was loud and the noise caused me to jump inside. He yelped as I heard the sound of his braces falling on the hard cement.

"Oh crap," I mumbled, instantly forgetting about the candy and sprinting to the door. In a crumpled heap laid the little boy. A woman, who I assumed was his mother based on the murderous glare she gave me, ran between the small hedges that were on either side of the porch directly to the small boy.

"Are you alright?" I crouched in the now open doorway, placing my hands under his arms in order to be able to lift him to his feet.

"Don't you dare touch him!" She hissed. I could tell that she wanted to yell, but didn't due to not wanting to scare her son.

"I'm sorry, it was an accident." I stammered.

"You slammed the door in his face, which is hardly an accident." She continued to glare; her shoulder length brown hair covered her heart shaped face for a moment as she straightened his braced legs in order for him to be able to stand. Her jacket and jeans were both worn from years of use, but clean.

I wanted to defend myself, but the boy beat me too it. "No, no, mummma," he smiled at me. "He's nice."

I smiled, taking hold of his other shoulder and together his mother and I got him to his feet. I wanted to say something, but every time I opened my mouth her eyes turned to challenging slits and so I decided to say nothing.

"Come on, Will," she said taking his hand.

He hobbled carefully as he turned himself back around. "It twis nice to met you." He smiled at me and his face glowed like the sun.

I nodded my head. "Same to you, Will, take care."

His mother looked at me, shaking her head and directed her son to the next neighbor's house.

I went back inside completely convinced that this place was cursed and nothing would ever go well for me. There in the middle of the floor sat the candy bar that I was trying to get. In frustration, I slammed the light off outside, ate the candy bar, and went directly to bed.

**Chapter****2**

I spent the next day in extreme detox getting the massive amount of dirt and grime off the surfaces of everything in the house. Anything that was cloth and had been hanging, such as curtains or towels, was either thrown into the washing machine or the trash, whichever I felt would be the most productive. I thought the dust was going to make me sick as I coughed and hacked my way through the clean-up.

The next two weeks I focused on painting every room in the house. The first few bedrooms went quickly, but I dreaded going into the master bedroom and bathroom. Death seemed to seep in from every corner of the room, however once finished; I was amazed at how beige paint could brighten up dingy walls and thick wooden paneling, quickly giving life to the house.

It happen to be my normal break time, where I would get a small snack and some tea to drink about the time that Will got home from school. Without meaning to I started to notice him get off the school bus and he would see me through the window. We waved to each other before he would go into his house and one hour later his mother arrived. I hated that he was there by himself, but I didn't really feel like it was my place to say anything. Another week of watching and waving through the window and I had finally moved to the outside of the house.

Thankfully it was mostly red brick except for the siding around the bay window that continued up to the second story. The wood siding was rotted and needed to be replaced. I rented some scaffolding to stand on and began tearing the molded pieces of wood from the house. It was a cold November day, but the sky was clear with the sun warming me through my flannel long sleeve shirt and jeans.

"Hello, Mistor," I heard Will say as another large chunk of wood fell to the ground.

"Hello." I turned on the scaffolding to look at him. "You may call me Jake, if you would like." I told him.

"Jawke," he smiled.

I nodded, deciding that was close enough to a correct pronunciation of my name. "How was school?" I asked.

"Fine," he looked down and limped a little closer to my house. I had a liter of Root Beer and box of chocolate chip cookies on the front porch that I saw his eyes dart to.

"Help yourself," I nodded my head to them. He took a few more wobbly steps and then reached one hand down to the step, giving an awkward plop on the step next to the cookies.

He munched quietly and I continued to work, and for the next week I left a box of cookies on my front porch and Will joined me each afternoon for a snack. Sometimes he would talk about school, I learned he was in second grade and had one friend that he would talk about. One day I noticed him gobble two cookies really quickly.

"Are you hungry, Will?" I didn't mind him eating a few cookies each day, but if he was actually hungry I knew it would be better to have some real food.

"Yes, Jawke."

"Let's go inside." I got down off the scaffolding and put my supplies away as I waited for him to straighten his own legs in order to stand up. He wobbled for just a second, which scared me to death and I almost reached out to him, but he corrected himself before moving to the door.

"Thawnk you," he said.

"Well, let's see what the food options are before you start thanking me. I haven't really taken the time to stock much of anything." I moved into the kitchen and he followed right behind me.

It was an open floor plan so that the kitchen looked into the living room, which made it easy to get to as Will followed me inside. I had to take very short steps to not leave him behind, but I wasn't in a hurry. The kitchen and living room were the rooms I used most often and I tried to keep them clean but had to pick up the empty cup and plate that I had left on the counter from my own lunch earlier that day.

"No, not fwor the fwood," he said, shaking his head.

"Then what did you thank me for?" I asked, getting the bread out of the pantry.

"For not trweating me like a baby."

I smiled. "Well, you're not a baby. And I know nothing about babies, so I wouldn't know how to treat you if you were."

"Mummas always so careful."

"I'm sure that she just worries about you."

Most of the time I ate frozen dinners, ordered pizza or some other form of delivery since I didn't want to prepare meals for just one person. All I could find was bread, peanut butter, no jelly, and some cheddar cheese. Given those options Will selected grilled cheese so I made the sandwiches quickly as he told me about his mother. She was a single mom who often had to work overtime at the bank to make ends meet. I cautiously asked if he had any other family and he just shrugged his shoulders.

"Here you go, Will," I said, handing him his plate.

He folded his hands over the plate in his lap and closed his eyes. "Dear God, pwleas blwess mumma, Mrs. Brwown, Mr. C, my best friends Jwake and Pwal, and . . ." There was a long stream of names of people I didn't know, but he never once mentioned himself even though his mother and myself were both mentioned a couple times. I wasn't sure if I had ever been prayed for before; it felt awkward and really good all at the same time. When he finished there was a long pause before he looked up at me.  
>"Are you gonna, pwray?" He asked.<p>

"Uh, um, no." I shook my head and tried to smile, but I think it was more of a grimace.

"Mawybe next, time." He lifted his now cold sandwich and began to eat.

Talking to Will was always a lengthy process, he would take a long time to think about what he wanted to say and then it would take even longer for him to say it. Sometimes I couldn't understand a slurred word and I felt bad for asking him to repeat himself.

"Mumma, calls me her maracle," he told me when there was a long pause.

"Why?" I asked, confused. I knew that I had my own personal issues with God and even more with the concept of miracles, but I didn't know what He had to do with Will.

Will shrugged. "I guess 'cause I was born earlies."

I nodded my head not sure what else to say. "Do you believe that you are a miracle?"

"Yes, God loves me."

I couldn't help the small smile that graced my face and nodded my head in agreement.

I had given up on God and felt certain that He had given up on me. However, I wasn't going to take away the peace that Will's faith gave him. For all I knew maybe Will really was God's, and had a special place in His heart. If anyone could come directly from God I believed that Will could have because of his purity and innocence. Everyone had their own problems, but somehow watching this boy who seemed to have every reason to be bitter, but wasn't, brought some perspective to my life. Maybe, just maybe, Will was the reason that I came back to the place that I dreaded the most.

We settled into the living room and I found a random cartoon that Will seemed familiar with. He laughed loudly and his hips would twitch at inconsistent moments. An hour later there was a frantic pounding on the door. Curious, I quickly walked to the door and opened it. The entryway opened directly into the living room and without a word to me Will's mother stormed into the house and dropped to her knees beside the couch that Will was sitting on.

"Oh my gosh, Will! I came home and you were nowhere to be found. I have been searching over half the block looking for you."

"Mumma..." Will interrupted.

"Don't you ever do that to me again!" His mother continued, clutching him tightly to her chest.

"Sorrwy," he mumbled, his head hung low.

I instantly felt like defending him, until for the second time his mother glared at me.

"Ms . . . huh," I suddenly didn't know what to call her. I never heard Will's last name, and calling her 'Mumma' probably wouldn't go over very well right now.

"Hodges, Danae Hodges." She answered, however her glare did not soften.

"It's nice to meet you. I'm Jake, Jake Tanis. I apologize for making you nervous, Will and I lost track of time."

As she started to relax she noticed the plate with the crust left from his sandwich and a plastic cup with soda in it. "You fed him?" She said, surprised. Now that her eyes relaxed I could see that her eyes were a beautiful shade of blue. Will must have gotten his hazel green eyes from his father. For a moment I wondered where he was, but didn't feel like it was my place to ask.

"Yes, I hope that isn't a problem. We normally have soda and a few cookies on the front porch, but he seemed very hungry today."

"Will, honey . . ." Danae shook her head as she got off the floor and sat next to him on the couch. "Did you not eat your lunch?"

Will shook his head 'no'.

"Why not, sweetheart?"

"I dropped it and it rolled down the hill where I couldn't get to it." Will said as big fat tears began to roll down his face.

Danae wrapped him in her arms and instantly I wanted to do the same, feeling bad for the small boy who couldn't help himself. However, I stayed glued in place, knowing that Danae would know best how to comfort her son.

After several minutes, Will lifted himself from his mother, his eyes were dry however his nose sniffled and I saw Danae wipe her cheek with her hand. There was one box of tissues, it got pretty beat up in the move but I figured it would work. I walked towards them with it in hand. Danae took two for herself and handed one more to Will.

"Thank you, God," I heard her mumble softly, giving Will another tight squeeze. I wasn't sure if I was supposed to have heard her mumbled words, however she looked directly at me and smiled. "Thank you, Mr. Tanis."

She took Will's elbow to help him to stand, I nodded my head to show that I heard as they walked together towards the door.

"You take care, little man." I patted Will on the back and his big smile beamed up at me.

I saw appreciation in Danae's eyes for a moment before a black pickup truck pulled up in front of their house. Her eyes darted to the window.

"I need to go, I'm late." Danae whispered.

Will looked out the window. "Ahh, Mumma, not again." Will complained.

"It is only our second date, I'll have him meet you next time."

"Then he'll rwun. . ." Will looked down and it was the first time I really saw him frown.

"Maybe not. . ." Danae gave him a small hug and then they opened the door.

"Again, thank you, Mr. Tanis."

"Any time, and please, call me Jake."

**Chapter****3**

When I first came back, I was going to simply do the necessities to get the house on the market and sold ASAP, however, Will started to spend more and more time at my house each day for an hour after school. That time became the highlight of my day, surprising me by how much I enjoyed his company. Together we spent all our time fixing the house, which included replacing all the windows, sanding, and polishing the wood floors. The roof leaked, so I decided to replace it as well. The house looked completely brand new and there wasn't much left for me to do.

So maybe 'together' was a bit of a stretch because there wasn't a whole lot that Will was actually able to do, but he tried. His face beamed simply knowing that he was my main helper and he was thrilled to simply hand me tools or get me a drink of water, whatever I could think of to make him feel useful. He loved to tell me stories. I'm not sure if his slurring had improved or most likely that I had gotten used to it.

The week of Thanksgiving, Will was out of school and therefore spent every day at my house. I only saw Danae through the window as she walked Will across the street from her house to my yard, then she would go to work. Therefore, I was surprised on Wednesday morning when she came with Will to the front door, inviting me over for Thanksgiving the following afternoon. I wasn't looking forward to spending the holiday alone and so I accepted quickly. Will's smile stretched across his face not leaving once throughout the day.

It made me slightly concerned with how attached he was getting to me, but maybe I was even more scared about how attached I was to him. Fixing the house was supposed to be my reason for being here and now that it was completed I should return to Tulsa where I was lucky enough to be a partner in a large marketing firm.

There were two store bought pies that I took out of the refrigerator, carrying them across the street. I only had to knock on the door once before Will opened the door, wrapping both arms around my waist in a tight embrace. I was startled because while I would pat his shoulder often we didn't usually hug each other. Maybe it was the holiday spirit that made him cling to me tightly.

"Hey little man." I patted his back, smiling as I looked around his spacious single story home.

"Come fowow me." Will instructed.

I followed him through a narrow entryway that opened to the living room. There was an old matching couch and loveseat that was navy blue with pale pink and yellow flowers. The carpet was tan with specs of blue, green, and red that was supposed to hide stains; however evidence of accidental spills could still be found next to the coffee table that was in front of the couch and floor to ceiling bookshelf that was in the corner. Instead of books there was a large assortment of board games, toys, and DVDs.

Past the living room was the kitchen, with white painted cabinets and blue knobs. Along the counter was decorative white ducks, each had a blue ribbon tied into a bow around its neck. In the center of the table was the turkey surrounded by rolls, sweet potatoes with toasted marshmallows on top, and green beans.

"Mumma look! He came!" Will yelled excited.

"Make sure to use your inside voice." Danae reminded him and smiled at me. She had on dark jeans and a white long sleeve shirt that had yellow, orange, and red leaves scattered across the front with 'Happy Thanksgiving' written in the middle. "Thank you for coming Jake. As you can tell he is extremely excited."

I smiled and nodded my head watching Will. "Thank you for inviting me. Where do you want these?" I lifted the two pies to indicate what I was asking about.

"You can set them on the counter, lunch is almost ready."

She scrapped the stuffing out of the pan into a serving dish. Will started to reach for the dish; however Danae took the dish, walking around him to place it on the table. Will frowned a little, wanting to try and help; however any disappointment was quickly forgotten once I joined him at the table.

The food was delicious and it felt like forever since I had eaten a home cooked meal. Will held most of the conversation telling Danae about the different projects that we had been working on together. For the most part she nodded quietly; if he told her the same stories that he often told me the odds were that she had heard it all before. However, he was especially proud of being able to help paint the cracks between the pieces of siding on the outside of the house. I would come back over it with a roller brush, covering any imperfections that he left behind.

"You let him paint your house?" Danae asked, surprised.

"Sure." I shrugged.

"Weren't you concerned about spilled paint or drips?"

I shook my head. "Not when I saw the smile on his face and the obvious pride he felt for being able to help. The few drips and spills were worth it."

"I was weally caweful, Mumma." Will said, defending himself.

"I am sure that you were, sweetheart." Danae smiled and rubbed his back lovingly.

Conversation flowed smoothly and I learned that Danae worked at the bank in corporate loans. I had a good friend who did the same and I knew that similar to real estate his income fluctuated based on the size of loan and how many loans were approved each month, therefore I assumed that Danae's income did the same. The unstable economy made it so that it wasn't any easier for corporations to be approved than the average person. Danae tried to make light of their financial situation but I knew that times were very hard.

Will slowly walked over to the kitchen sink, placing his dirty dishes in it. "Come on Jawk, come to my room!" Will said, his face bright with excitement.

"Okay, hold on Buddy." I smiled, turning my attention to Danae for a moment. "Thank you for lunch, do you need help with anything?"

Danae shook her head with a smile. "No, I'll be fine."

I did the same as Will, placing my own dishes in the sink and then followed him out of the kitchen. Will was almost prancing, which was not something easy for him due to his unstable legs. At times he would scowl at his legs and I could tell that Will found his own slow pace frustrating with him wanting to get there faster.

"Take it easy, Will. We have all afternoon." I encouraged.

I didn't know it was possible but his smile stretched further across his face, as I followed him back through the living room and down another narrow hallway to his room.

His walls were light blue and had an interesting mixture of posters, except for that they were smaller than most posters. Each square had various baseball and basketball pictures, along with action heroes, and cartoons from well-known movies and TV shows. I also thought it was very creative to use out-of-date calendars as wall decorations. On the floor by the bed was a rug that had the layout of a small town with roads, train tracks, and buildings.

He had a twin size bed with a green and blue stripe comforter that was over his pillow and smooth without any wrinkles. The perfection was matched by the bookshelf which had diaper boxes that were covered with construction paper and a drawing of a car or tractor or super hero on the outside of the box to indicate what toy should be placed inside. To my surprise there was not a single toy in the wrong box, which might have been because there were so few toys, therefore keeping them separated would have been simple.

Will hobbled over to the bookshelf, selected the box of tractors and plopped on the floor. "Come, pway with me."

"Sure." I sat down beside him. From the seven small tractors that there were to choose from I selected the yellow backhoe and together we pretended to build roads and buildings that were already on the rug. Will was fascinated by the engine sounds I made while pretending to move the tractor and would try to mimic them. It made me realize how much I took for granted having a loving father of my own who had played and taught me things. I wanted to be that for Will, maybe not a father, but a mentor who could encourage him and teach him the necessities of being a boy, like sound effects and avoiding the yellow snow, especially when you were the one who made it yellow.

After several hours of playing I glanced over my shoulder to see Danae, leaning against the door frame of his bedroom. I smiled and gestured to the floor, silently asking her if she wanted to join, which she simply shook her head. She tucked her hair behind her ear, revealing gold dangling earrings and I noticed that she had changed into a knee length denim skirt, tall brown boots and fitted brown jacket over the same holiday shirt she was already wearing. It seemed strange that she had dressed up for such a relaxing afternoon.

"Will sweetie, Ms. Margaret will be here in an hour. Let's go ahead and get your bath so she will be able to put you to bed later."

I knew from previous conversations with Will that Ms. Margaret was his baby sitter. She was a retired widow who took good care of Will but he found her to be boring and even more cautious with him than his own mother.

Will frowned and opened his mouth to protest, but Danae gave him a stern look indicating for him to not argue with her.

"Yes, Ma'am." His pouty lower lip trembled. "Will you come bwack?" He asked me.

"Sure anytime."

His face brightened, however his lip still trembled. "Maybwe tonight?" He asked, hopefully.

"I would, but you already have someone coming to stay with you."

"Pwease Mumma. Can Jwak stay instead?"

Will's face was pleading the way his eyes and face indicated plainly how much he really wanted me to stay. How anyone would be able to deny such an angelic face when Will really wanted something was beyond me. Apparently it was beyond Danae as well and she nodded her head slowly. "Yes. Are you sure you don't mind Jake? I don't want to impose."

"No problem." I smiled and tousled Will's hair. "Go ahead and take your bath and I'll be here until your mother comes home."

Will grinned and straightened his own legs in order to be able to stand. Danae turned to follow Will and I thought I saw her wipe a small tear from the corner of her eye as she walked with Will to the bathroom. After Danae left, we reheated leftovers for dinner and ate in front of the TV, watching one of his favorite shows. When it was time for him to go to bed I read him several stories and he fell asleep half way through the third.

After he was asleep I was able to use their computer to return some business emails, making suggestions to colleagues and approval of new business that we would service. I knew that I needed to start making preparations to return to my real life, but I wasn't ready to leave. For a moment I stood in the doorway of Will's room and watched his tiny body relaxed in sleep, knowing he was why I didn't want to go.

**For the rest of the story go to Tricky Ravel and look for God's Will. Thank you. **


End file.
